Sprint Kyocera Echo hands-on!

We had a chance to spend time with Sprint, Kyocera, and the Echo earlier in the day, and while there were mumblings about what to expect, we have to say we were completely shocked — literally speechless with all smiles. The Kyocera Echo is unlike any other device we have ever seen, and it’s truly innovative. Let’s first recap the specifications of the handset:

As for our thoughts on the phone… hit the jump and we’ll give you all the details.

The device is a bit thick, and it’s a bit square for our tastes. Additionally, the individual screens are a little small, but that’s just us being nit-picky — as you have a 4.7″ surface area when the phone is fully opened. We were very impressed with the build quality after our limited time with the handset, and while the unique LiquidMetal hinge mechanism scared us at first, it actually seemed to be incredibly solid and well designed (Kyocera told us there were 6 patents alone on this hinge). Not only does the device open up to reveal another display, but you can flip the top display up a little bit to sit on an angle, just like a Nintendo DS.

Using the Echo blew our minds. Having two screens next to each other is something that we never expected to see on a mobile device just because we never gave it much thought, and could never really justify it in our heads. Seeing and using it in person actually made the concept make sense in a weird, super-nerdy way, however. The ability to run full apps simultaneous in Simul-task mode, changes the way you multitask. Having the web browser open on the top display while you’re watching a video or browsing photos on the lower display is such a natural action for those of us that are on the move and multitask in our everyday lives (for better or worse). Being able to compose an email while having Google Maps open or even having two browser windows open at the same time can literally change the way you work. That’s not all two displays are good for, though. In apps like email for instance, you can use one display to navigate and select a specific email message and the other display to read it, much like a tablet email app — it’s really useful.

Additionally, Sprint told us that there will be a third-party API that developers can utilize to support both displays on the Echo — they demoed The Sims 3 from EA for us, and it was pretty cool. You could touch navigate the top part while action buttons and items were displayed below — if developers really start to support this device, we wouldn’t be surprised to see games really take off on here.

The overall design identity of the phone doesn’t mesh too well with us, though; that’s obviously subjective. We found it to be a little uninspiring, even bland, and you wouldn’t expect that on such an innovative and boundary-pushing device. Sprint said that the Kyocera Echo will come with not only an extra battery but an external battery charger in the box for free, and while this raised a red flag for us, Sprint was quick to assure us that even though the Echo is still not final, its battery life is on par with other smartphones currently in the market.

We thought we knew what to expect going into this thing, and we came out with mixed feelings. On one hand, it’s a truly impressive handset and Sprint and Kyocera have completely pushed the boundary again this time in the smartphone world. It changes the way we think about a smartphone in a lot of areas, and even from our limited time with the phone, we can totally see it changing the direction of a mobile device’s utility. On the other hand, Android isn’t known as the easiest OS to use, and we’re getting much more fragmented day by day, so the Kyocera Echo doesn’t help. We’re not completely sure who the Echo is aimed at and will be marketed towards, so we’ll just have to see who ends up stepping up to the plate. One thing is for sure, though… we can’t wait until we get one in our hands to review because we kind of miss it already. It should be available this Spring for $199.

I can’t believe how positive this review is. Sprint failed us on this one. They should’ve be working on something else.

Hjghf

Looks like a DS end of story

FairAndBalanced

Sprint? Gross and disgusting.

anonymous

Actually its not a bad concept with the dual screens, but they do need to tweak the design by making it thinner and the layout of the buttons. Ala Nintendo DS, they could market this as a gaming phone too and give the Xplay some competition.

knarf

This is an awesome looking phone! I love the concept! Way to go Sprint!

Sinnadar

Kyocera is actually a well known brand in japan. It’s a great stable product, I like that it has a tablet view that utilizes both screens, its got a great processer.. I wish it would have been 4G.. its such a waist not to be.. and im sure the batterylife is horrifying.

I don’t think this phone will sell very well at all and I was rooting for something great coming from Sprint. I don’t know why they can’t come out with really awesome phones. Too bad the Palm 3 isn’t available immediately or I would buy one. However, since we have to wait till the summer to get it…it will be worthless and will be the Palm Pre original all over again. I was expecting Sprint to use this announcement to say hey not only do we have the iPhone too but we have these other high end phones. Nope…total fail.

Anonymous

So when is this Krotchocinco coming out, Spring? EPIC FAIL…

Dannyd

You can browse pictures and watch YouTube videos but dont try and make a call at the same time.

http://twitter.com/Syk0Matik420 Beefy McBigDick

man, KYOCERA is still around? LOL. They made the shittiest phones ever for the really shitty carriers. US Cellular, Metro PCS, all those shit companies no one with money uses. Its funny they are still around, Its even funnier SPRINT is using them. kyocera is awful hardware. DO NOT buy anything they make. especially on Sprint network, which has 4 towers in the united states. ( or so it seems)

2 Bunny

Is this Kyocera’s first Smartphone since the 6035 and 7135? The 7135 was a large phone, but was incredible for its time.

Vecarter5

Mixed feelings with this…on one side im like this may be a solid phone but after watchin a video about it on another site its very laggy and not very powerful as the specs…as a phone lover i kno that specs are one thing but how the phone will actually respond to a tru user it TOtALLYYY different!!!! SPRINT…this is either an #EpicFail or #HugeSucces there is no in between and jus that fast im stARTIN to believe its sliding towards #FAIL